Location tracking

ABSTRACT

One or more embodiments of techniques or systems for location tracking are provided herein. A system for location tracking may be utilized to track or determine one or more locations for one or more devices of one or more users. A tracking system or control component may be utilized to access or initiate requests for location tracking, such as for legitimate purposes or business reasons. For example, a system for location tracking may be implemented as an application or tracking application installed on a mobile device or a device or a user. A device may transmit a key to a third party and encrypted location data to a tracking entity. The application may have a front-end interface (e.g., for users being tracked) and a back-end interface (e.g., for users initiating tracking). In this manner, location tracking is provided while promoting privacy and safety.

BACKGROUND

Generally, location tracking may be achieved utilizing globalpositioning systems (GPS) within a device or mobile device. For example,location tracking may enable a user to utilize location based services.However, privacy may be a concern to users when location tracking isenabled on his or her device or mobile device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

This brief description is provided to introduce a selection of conceptsin a simplified form that are described below in the detaileddescription. This brief description is not intended to be an extensiveoverview of the claimed subject matter, identify key factors oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

In one or more embodiments, location tracking is provided in a “switchon/switch off” manner for one or more users. This enables locations ofone or more users to be determined in different scenarios, such as whena valid business reason exists for location tracking. In other words, asystem for location tracking may enable one user to track or determinethe location of one or more other users, as appropriate. Examplescenarios where tracking may be enabled via a location tracking systeminclude emergencies, such as system emergencies, data center disasters,weather emergencies, tornadoes, blizzards, storms, terrorist attacks, orother unforeseen events.

To this end, a location tracking application or mobile application maybe installed on one or more mobile devices (e.g., smartphones, cellulardevices, remote devices, portable devices, etc.) of one or more users(for whom location tracking may be desired). In other words, employees,users, team members, participants, individuals, or entities who wish toparticipate may install a corresponding application or location trackingapplication on their respective devices to facilitate location tracking.An application or location tracking application may communicate with atracking system (e.g., associated with a tracking entity), which may beimplemented as a server, a central component, or a control component.Additionally, an application or system for location tracking may passinformation, such as an encryption key, to third parties forsafekeeping, thereby preserving confidentiality. In one or moreembodiments, the control component or tracking system may initiate arequest or transmit a request to activate location tracking for one ormore devices or mobile devices.

A request for location tracking may be initiated in different ways orwith different criteria. For example, a system for location tracking maybe centrally invoked or selectively invoked based on a location of auser, one or more user attributes (e.g., office location, place ofbusiness, schedule, calendar appointments, work location, currentlocation, real-time location, present geographical location, jobdescription, job title, job duties or job function, organization,hierarchy, job type, personal preferences), skill sets, expertise in anarea (e.g., CPR certified), one or more capabilities associated with auser, one or more user attributes for other users (e.g., a distressbeacon of another user, team member, co-worker, acquaintance, such aswhen another individual is on a friend list for a user, etc.), or one ormore situational factors (e.g., duration of location tracking, durationof an emergency, number of distress beacons activated, a danger levelassociated with a scenario or emergency, etc.). Criteria or parametersassociated with a request may include time frames during which trackingis requested, a reporting interview or a frequency of location trackingor transmittal of encrypted location data to a tracking entity, whichmay be open ended (e.g., from a point going forward, etc.).

In this way, a search or a request for location tracking may beinitiated for a set of employees capable of fixing a power outage (e.g.,based on expertise of one or more users and location relative to anoutage), among other things, for example. Another example of a requestfor location tracking may include requests for location tracking ofemployees of a branch of an office (e.g., having a specific workaddress).

Location data may be encrypted using a key, and the encrypted locationdata may be sent to a first party, such as a tracking entity. The key,on the other hand, may be sent or transmitted to another party, such asa third party, a fiduciary, etc., who holds the key until a request ismade by the tracking entity (or, in some cases, the user) to providethat key to the tracking entity. In other words, the third party mayhold the encryption key while the tracking entity receives encryptedlocation data from mobile devices of users (e.g., employees). When alegitimate business purpose arises, the tracking entity may request theencryption key from the third party to decrypt the location data. In oneor more embodiments, the third party may provide the encryption key tothe tracking entity upon request (e.g., without user consent). In otherembodiments, the third party may provide the encryption key to thetracking entity based on user consent or automatic consent, such asafter a timeout period. Without the encryption key, the tracking entitymay not be able to access the location data to determine a location of auser. Similarly, without the location data, the third party has no wayto determining the location of the user. In this way, safety and privacymay be promoted while location tracking is consistently performed or fedto the tracking entity.

The control component may enable requests to be activated, initiated, orutilized from multiple devices, such as different mobile devices. Inthis example, an interface component may provide an interface whichallows a user to initiate a request for location tracking on a mobiledevice based on a level of access associated with the user. In otherwords, if the user is a high-level user, a super user, or has sufficientaccess rights or privileges, he or she may utilize an applicationinstalled on a device or mobile device to initiate location tracking forone or more users.

In one or more embodiments, this application used to track users may bethe same application or a part of applications which provide locationsof users when location tracking is enabled. Explained another way, inone or more embodiments, a location tracking application may include afront-end user interface and a back-end user interface. The front-end ofthe interface may be accessible to users to be tracked or enrolled intracking, while the back-end of the interface may be utilized oraccessible to users for initiating tracking requests, for example.

In other embodiments, different applications may be utilized fordifferent groups of users. Here, for example, tracking applications maybe installed on devices or mobile devices of one or more users (for whomlocation tracking may be desired) and a control application may beutilized (on one or more control devices) to initiate requests forlocation tracking associated with one or more of the users who have thetracking application installed. Regardless, location tracking may beprovided such that the privacy of users, team members, or employees maybe preserved. In other words, location tracking may merely be enabledwhen legitimate purposes exist, such as legitimate business reasons,emergencies, or for public health and safety, etc.

The following description and annexed drawings set forth certainillustrative aspects and implementations. These are indicative of but afew of the various ways in which one or more aspects may be employed.Other aspects, advantages, or novel features of the disclosure willbecome apparent from the following detailed description when consideredin conjunction with the annexed drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Aspects of the disclosure are understood from the following detaileddescription when read with the accompanying drawings. Elements,structures, etc. of the drawings may not necessarily be drawn to scale.Accordingly, the dimensions of the same may be arbitrarily increased orreduced for clarity of discussion, for example.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a component diagram of an example systemfor location tracking, according to one or more embodiments.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of an example scenario where systems forlocation tracking are employed, according to one or more embodiments.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of an example scenario where systems forlocation tracking are employed, according to one or more embodiments.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of an example flow diagram of a method forlocation tracking, according to one or more embodiments.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of an example computer-readable medium orcomputer-readable device including processor-executable instructionsconfigured to embody one or more of the provisions set forth herein,according to one or more embodiments.

FIG. 6 is an illustration of an example computing environment where oneor more of the provisions set forth herein are implemented, according toone or more embodiments.

DESCRIPTION

Embodiments or examples, illustrated in the drawings are disclosed belowusing specific language. It will nevertheless be understood that theembodiments or examples are not intended to be limiting. Any alterationsand modifications in the disclosed embodiments, and any furtherapplications of the principles disclosed in this document arecontemplated as would normally occur to one of ordinary skill in thepertinent art.

For one or more of the figures herein, one or more boundaries, such asboundary 614 of FIG. 6, for example, may be drawn with differentheights, widths, perimeters, aspect ratios, shapes, etc. relative to oneanother merely for illustrative purposes, and are not necessarily drawnto scale. For example, because dashed or dotted lines may be used torepresent different boundaries, if the dashed and dotted lines weredrawn on top of one another they would not be distinguishable in thefigures, and thus may be drawn with different dimensions or slightlyapart from one another, in one or more of the figures, so that they aredistinguishable from one another. As another example, where a boundaryis associated with an irregular shape, the boundary, such as a box drawnwith a dashed line, dotted lined, etc., does not necessarily encompassan entire component in one or more instances. Conversely, a drawn boxdoes not necessarily encompass merely an associated component, in one ormore instances, but may encompass a portion of one or more othercomponents as well.

The following terms are used throughout the disclosure, the definitionsof which are provided herein to assist in understanding one or moreaspects of the disclosure.

As used herein, the term “infer” or “inference” generally refer to theprocess of reasoning about or inferring states of a system, a component,an environment, a user from one or more observations captured via eventsor data, etc. Inference may be employed to identify a context or anaction or may be employed to generate a probability distribution overstates, for example. An inference may be probabilistic. For example,computation of a probability distribution over states of interest basedon a consideration of data or events. Inference may also refer totechniques employed for composing higher-level events from a set ofevents or data. Such inference may result in the construction of newevents or new actions from a set of observed events or stored eventdata, whether the events are correlated in close temporal proximity, andwhether the events and data come from one or several event and datasources.

A tracking entity may be an entity associated with location tracking forone or more users. For example, a tracking entity may be a party or auser who receives location data or encrypted location data associatedwith one or more devices. In one or more embodiments, the trackingentity may be a company or an enterprise. A tracking entity may initiateone or more requests for location tracking and also be a requesting user(who initiated one or more requests for location tracking).Additionally, a user may include a team member, a customer, anindividual, a person, an entity, an employee, participant, etc.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a component diagram of an example system100 for location tracking, according to one or more embodiments. Thesystem 100 may include a request component 110, a management component120, a location component 130, a notification component 140, aninterface component 150, and an encryption component 160.

In one or more embodiments, the encryption component 160 may calculateor determine an encryption key. The encryption component may generatedifferent encryption keys on a periodic basis. The encryption key may beutilized to encrypt location data determined by the location component130 of a device employing the system 100 for location tracking.Similarly, the encryption key may be utilized to decrypt the encryptedlocation data. In other words, symmetrical encryption may be employed,for example. Additionally, different encryption schemes may be utilized,such as RSA encryption, for example. The location component 130 maytransmit or send the encryption key(s) to a third party for safekeeping.Generally, the third party may transmit the encryption key to thetracking entity upon request to the third party. In some embodiments,the third party may transmit the encryption key when permission isgranted by a user of the device for the tracking entity to share theencryption key with other parties. In the meantime, encrypted locationdata may be sent or transmitted to the tracking entity on an ongoingbasis. Accordingly, the system 100 may track user locations in the eventof an emergency, while providing peace of mind to users that theirlocations are not being tracked during non-emergency scenarios. Forexample, without the encryption key together with the encrypted locationdata, neither the third party nor the tracking entity may determine thelocation or location history of a user of a device, unless permission isgiven, such as in the form of a response (e.g., indicative of consent orapproval) to the request for location tracking, for example. It will beappreciated that in one or more embodiments, permission or consent maybe implied when a user installs or downloads a tracking application tohis or her device.

Accordingly, when a response indicative of consent to a request forlocation tracking is received by a tracking system (e.g., associatedwith a tracking entity), the tracking system may present that responseto the third party or third party storage component, which would thenprovide the tracking entity (which already has the encrypted locationdata) with a corresponding encryption key, thereby enabling the trackingentity to decrypt the encrypted location data and determine one or morelocations or a location history associated with a user. Alternatively,asymmetric encryption may be utilized such that a public key is utilizedto encrypt location data, and a private key is provided to the thirdparty, which provides the private key to a requesting user or trackingentity when an appropriate or approval response is received (e.g., froma user of a mobile device and forwarded to the third party).

In other embodiments, the third party may not be utilized or nogatekeeper would be used, and location data may be stored locally on thedevice (which may or may not be encrypted) and provided on demand fromthe tracking entity or when a user of a device provides consent to arequest for location tracking or does not disable location trackingafter the notification is received. Again, it will be appreciated thatconsent may be implied based on installation or download of a trackingapplication and a notification may be provided to the user when trackingis enabled. Here, location tracking could be managed by the requestcomponent 110 (e.g., for manual or user responses) or the managementcomponent 120 (e.g., for automatic responses). For example, a controlcomponent 210 may transmit push notifications to one or more mobiledevices or devices. Respective devices may have request components 110which filter or determine whether a request or push notification appliesto that device (e.g., based on job function, office location, joblocation, real-time location, etc.). In one or more embodiments, when arequest component 110 of a device determines that a request or pushnotification is applicable, the location component 130 may determine ortransmit a location of the device (e.g., which may not necessarily beencrypted) to a tracking entity (e.g., control component 210). Here,location tracking is enabled merely during emergency or business relatedscenarios which resulted in the tracking entity transmitting a requestor push notification to one or more users or subsets of users. In thisway, user or employee locations are merely transmitted duringappropriate times and a need for encryption may be bypassed.

The request component 110 may be part of a device, mobile device, orremote device. In one or more embodiments, the request component 110 mayperform filtering or determine whether a request received by a deviceapplies to an individual or user associated with the device. In otherwords, the request component 110 may manage aspects related to requestmanagement such that a mobile device or device may receive a request andmake a determination whether to present, notify, or proceed with thatrequest based on known information, predetermined criteria, userattributes, etc. For example, when a requesting user requests thatlocation tracking be enabled for his or her team members, a controlcomponent may transmit one or more requests to a plurality or multipleusers or employees. Here, if a user is not associated or not a teammember for the requesting user, that user's mobile device or device mayreceive the request for location tracking and ignore or filter therequest such that no action is taken. The mobile device of a user mayinclude information (e.g., a profile managed by the management component120) which identifies whether a user meets criteria of a search orrequest, such as current location, job duties, or expertise, forexample. If a user is a team member for the requesting user, his or hermobile device may notify that user that he or she is being tracked or isrequested to provide his or her location accordingly, for example.

As another example, if a requesting user (e.g., tracking entity)initiates location tracking for individuals or users within a ten mileradius of a fire (e.g., notification area or notification radius), themobile device may be utilized to procure or determine coordinatesassociated with a user, presumably because the device will be able todetermine a location of a user. Here, in this scenario, one or morerequests may be sent from a control component or tracking system to mostany device or mobile device and respective devices may filter one ormore of the requests accordingly (e.g., based on a current location ofthe device) for presentation to users of respective devices.

For example, a mobile device not within the notification radius ornotification area may receive the request via the request component 110and determine a criteria of the request to be associated with locationof the device or mobile device. To this end, the request component 110may forward the request for location tracking to a location component130, which may determine a location of the mobile device, device,location of a user of the device, current location, etc. A user of adevice may not necessarily be forwarded or notified of a request, suchas if a request does not match, meet, or fall within a scope ofcriteria. Here, the current location or location of mobile device oruser may be determined by the location component 130 and passed back tothe request component 110 for analysis. Continuing with this example,because the user or individual of this mobile is not within thenotification area or notification radius, the request component 110 maydetermine that this device does not meet the criteria associated withthe request or search, thereby ignoring the request and not presentingthe request to the user.

As another example, a mobile device which is located within thenotification radius or notification area may receive the request via therequest component 110 and determine a criteria of the request to beassociated with the location of the device or mobile device in a similarmanner. Again, the request component 110 may forward the request forlocation tracking to a location component 130, which may determine alocation of the mobile device. When the current location or location ofmobile device or user is passed back to the request component 110 foranalysis, the request component 110 may determine that the device doesmeet the criteria associated with the request or search because thelocation of the device is within the notification area or notificationradius. To this end, the request component 110 may pass the requestalong to the notification component 140 for user approval prior tonotifying a user of the device of the request and transmitting aresponse to the request to a control component or tracking system.

It will be appreciated that in one or more embodiments, encryptedlocation data (e.g., location data determined by location component 130and encrypted by encryption component 160) may be transmitted or sent toa tracking entity on an ongoing basis. An encryption key utilized todecrypt the encrypted location data may be transmitted to a third party.Here, when the notification component 140 notifies a user of a device ormobile device of a request, a response may be provided to a requestinguser or tracking entity to approve or deny a corresponding request. Thetracking entity or the requesting user may provide a response indicativeof approval of a location tracking request to the third party to receivean encryption key. In other words, when a third party is sent a responseassociated with approval of tracking, the third party may release theencryption key or transmit the encryption key to the tracking entity orrequesting user.

Accordingly, the request component 110 of respective devices maydetermine whether a corresponding mobile device meets criteriaassociated with the request (e.g., whether a mobile device is within anotification area). Explained another way, the request component 110 maycause the location component 130 to (internally within a mobile device)determine a current location of the device or mobile device. Thislocation may be compared to parameters or criteria associated with arequest, either on-board of the mobile device or sent to a third-partyfor comparison or criteria verification. In this way, filtering ofrequests may be performed device side or third-party side, rather thanserver side, thereby enabling a system for location tracking to contactor request location tracking from a desired or correct cross-section ofemployees or users without requiring non-encrypted location data or anencryption key to be sent or transmitted to the requesting user prior toobtaining permission or consent from one or more of the users.Regardless of how performed, it will be appreciated that a componentwithin a system for location tracking may ensure that the appropriategroup of individuals or users receives the request for locationtracking.

Other examples of filtering criteria, parameters, or criteria mayinclude a location of a user, one or more user attributes (e.g., officelocation, place of business, schedule, calendar appointments, worklocation, current location, a notification radius, a notification area,real-time location, present geographical location, job description, jobtitle, job duties or job function, organization, hierarchy, job type,personal preferences), one or more user attributes for other users(e.g., a distress beacon of another user, team member, co-worker,acquaintance, such as when another individual is on a friend list for auser, etc.), or one or more situational factors (e.g., duration of anemergency, number of distress beacons activated, a danger levelassociated with a scenario or emergency, etc.). Again, it will beappreciated that determination of whether a user or individual meetscriteria, one or more parameters, or falls within the scope of a requestmay be performed on a mobile device (e.g., device side), on a controlcomponent (e.g., server side), or sent to a third party forverification. Explained yet another way, criteria matching or criteriacomparison for a request may be performed by the control component (seeFIG. 2), the request component 110, or a third party.

The request component 110 may be utilized by a user who may be trackedto manage privacy of his or her location tracking. For example, therequest component 110 interact with the notification component 140 toalert or provide a notification to a user when location tracking isrequested. Further, upon reviewing the notification, the user mayinteract with the request component 110 via an interface rendered by theinterface component 150 and enable or disable location trackingaccordingly. As a result, the request component 110 enables a user toselect whether location tracking should be activated on a request byrequest basis. For example, a user may respond to a request by providingthe request component 110 with a response to the request which indicateswhether to enable or disable location tracking for the correspondingrequest. In this way, control of location tracking requests may beprovided for one or more users.

In one or more embodiments, the management component 120 may implement atimeout scheme if a response is not provided by the user within apredetermined timeframe (e.g., a response to a request for locationtracking via the request component 110). For example, if a requestinguser initiates a request for location tracking for a group ofindividuals, when an individual fails to respond or does not respondwithin a predetermined time period (e.g., thirty minutes), themanagement component 120 of a device may enable automatic locationtracking for an individual associated with the device via an automaticresponse. In other words, the management component 120 may provide aresponse to the request component 110 which indicates that locationtracking is to be enabled or to automatically consent to locationtracking. In one or more embodiments, this automatically providedresponse created by the management component 120 may be distinct ordifferent than manually provided responses indicative of consentprovided directly by a user.

In other embodiments, a control component or tracking system maygenerate an automatic response in a similar manner if the predeterminedtimeframe has elapsed and no response has been received from the deviceand a legitimate reason is provided to the third party. In other words,if a device is destroyed or otherwise non-responsive, this enables arequesting user or tracking entity to obtain encryption keys tofacilitate location tracking (e.g., without a user response).

In one or more embodiments, the management component 120 may managegranularity of location data transmitted or sent to the controlcomponent. In other words, the management component 120 may control alevel of detail associated with location data sent to a requesting useror user who requests location tracking. For example, if a firstrequesting user has a first level of access, the management component120 may merely provide a rough location (e.g., city, state, zip code,etc.) associated with one or more users targeted by a request. In otherwords, the management component 120 may regulate location datatransmitted to the requesting user based on the level of access he orshe has (e.g., the first access level). A second user associated with asecond level of access may be provided with additional location data,such as global positioning system (GPS) coordinates based on the secondlevel of access, which is greater than the first level of access, forexample.

As another example, if automatic location tracking is enabled due to afailure of a user to respond to a location tracking request or anon-response to a location tracking request, location data provided to acontrol component, tracking system, or tracking entity may begeneralized, such that exact coordinates are not provided. For example,a location component 130 may provide or transmit two sets of encryptedlocation data to a tracking entity on an ongoing basis, where a firstset may be indicative of rough coordinates (e.g., zip code, city, state,etc.) and the second set may be indicative of more precise coordinates(e.g., GPS coordinates) and may be collected more frequently than thefirst set of location data. The encryption component 160 may utilizedifferent sets of encryption keys (and provide a third party with bothsets) to encrypt the location data and have the third party provide theencryption key corresponding to the less precise set of location datawhen an automatic response is provided, thereby enhancing privacy ofautomatically shared information. Here, if automatic location trackingis enabled, the management component 120 may merely provide theencryption key for obtaining city and state location data, rather thanglobal positioning system (GPS) coordinates. In other embodiments, themanagement component 120 may pass exact coordinates or a currentlocation of a user to the control component 210 without generalizationor masking of such location data.

Additionally, the management component 120 may enable users to setuppreferences to manage specificity of location data to be provided when arequest is received. In other words, a user may select a preference oroption which indicates that rough, general, or limited location data(e.g., city and state location data, a zip code, etc.) should beprovided when requested, rather than exact coordinates (e.g., GPScoordinates, etc.). For example, when the user selects an option toprovide more limited or rough location data, the location component 130may determine a location of a device, and the encryption component 160may encrypt the location data such that the encrypted location data may,when decrypted, be indicative of merely city, state, or zip codeassociated with a user, for example.

In one or more embodiments, the management component 120 may enable auser to setup one or more preferences, such as a timeout duration (afterwhich automatic location tracking may be enabled or a correspondingresponse transmitted). In other words, the management component 120 mayenable a user to choose or select a customized timeout window or timeoutscheme such that an automated response may be provided by the managementcomponent 120 after the customized timeout window. Further, aspreviously discussed, the management component 120 may also allow a userto customize or select preferences which control or are indicative of alevel of granularity of location data to be shared or transmitted with arequesting user. In other words, the management component 120 may enableusers to control when a timeout occurs and how much location data toshare with others or whether to have a timeout scheme enabled, forexample.

In one or more embodiments, the management component 120 may enable a“location flare” (e.g., last known location, etc.) to be sent ortransmitted from the device when a battery of the device is low (e.g.,less than a threshold battery level) or when the device enters a lowsignal area where the signal is less than a threshold level. Forexample, a device or mobile device may have an option or preferencesavailable via the management component 120 to enable location flares tobe sent. If a user selects this option and a battery level of a mobiledevice falls below a threshold level (e.g., ten percent), the locationcomponent 130 of the device may determine a location of the device andtransmit the location to a third party server or to a tracking systembased on the battery level of the device. In one or more embodiments,the location data of a location flare may or may not be encrypted basedon a user preference associated with or managed by the managementcomponent 120.

In one or more embodiments, the management component 120 may provide anoption or a preference to disable location tracking altogether. Forexample, a request received by a device or mobile device with locationtracking disabled may ignore a request without determining a location ofthe device using the location component 130 of the mobile device. Inother words, the management component 120 may apply preferences selectedby a user to ignore or block incoming location tracking requests, thusfiltering unwanted or non-applicable requests accordingly.

Additionally, the management component 120 may enable a user to manuallyactivate location tracking, transmit a distress signal, or initiate abeacon (e.g., distress beacon). For example, if a user is in trouble orwould like assistance, such as from other team members or co-workers,the user may interface with the management component 120 toself-initiate location tracking. In other words, a user may activelyprovide his or her location to a tracking system or a control component210 associated therewith. For example, when a user initiates locationtracking from his or her end (e.g., a device-side initiated locationtracking request), the management component 120 may interface with thenotification component 140 to alert the user that he or she will beproviding his or her location to a tracking system or control component.If a user continues with the self-initiated location tracking, thelocation component 130 may determine a location associated with themobile device and transmit that location or current location (e.g.,which may be in an unencrypted form) to a tracking system or controlcomponent.

In response to this, a tracking system or control component may sendnotifications or other location tracking requests to users in the area(e.g., a predefined area or within a radius of the location of the userassociated with self-initiated location tracking). As a result of this,other users may be able to respond or provide assistance to the user whoinitiated location tracking. For example, the control component ortracking system may provide notifications to one or more usersindicating a current location of the user who manually initiatedlocation tracking. In one or more embodiments, location trackingrequests may be sent to or target users within a predefined area or aradius around a location or current location of the user who initiatedthe tracking.

For example, a location tracking request may be sent to one or moreusers or corresponding devices (e.g., including users within apredefined area or radius of the user who initiated the tracking) andrespective devices may determine one or more locations corresponding tothe respective devices. The location tracking requests may includecriteria or parameters indicative of which users for which locationtracking may be desired. Here, in this example, the location trackingrequests may indicate that location tracking is requested forindividuals or users within a five mile radius of the individual or thefirst user (e.g., the user who self-initiating location tracking). Tothis end, respective devices may have request component(s) 110 whichfacilitate matching of these criteria with locations determined for thedevices (e.g., via the location component 130). In one or moreembodiments, a control component or tracking system may merely notifyusers of the location of the first user in response to manual responsesto the location tracking requests. In this way, assistance may beprovided to the user who initiated the manual location tracking featureof the system for location tracking.

The location component 130 may be utilized to determine a location of adevice or mobile device or a location of a user of a device or mobiledevice. For example, the location component 130 may include an antenna,a receiver, a global positioning system (GPS), one or more telematicscomponents, etc. As discussed, the management component 120 may providea user of a mobile device with options or preferences to disabletracking. In these scenarios where a user chooses or selects a disabletracking option, the location component 130 may be disabled or manuallydisabled by a user. When this is done, the notification component 140may provide a user with a confirmation notification that he or she isdisabling location tracking. In one or more embodiments, when a userdisables location tracking via the management component 120, an alert ornotification may be transmitted to a tracking system, tracking entity,or control component which may be indicative that location tracking hasbeen disabled for that individual or user. This enables the trackingsystem or control component 210 (e.g., of FIG. 2) to account for thatindividual if an emergency scenario arises, for example.

In one or more embodiments, the location component 130 may transmit alocation flare or last known location of a device to a tracking system,tracking entity, third party, or control component when a user disableslocation tracking. In other words, the location component 130 may savethe last known location based on deactivation of the location component130, thereby providing a failsafe, a starting point, or a backup whentracking is intentionally disabled or manually disabled. Similarly,other embodiments may provide for a location flare to be sent based on alow battery level or entry into a low signal strength area, etc.

In one or more embodiments, such as when user or team member is introuble, the user may intentionally enable location tracking (e.g., byinitiating a location tracking application on his or her mobile device)and cause the device to communicate with a third party, tracking system,tracking entity, or control component and provide or publish thelocation of the user (e.g., which may be unencrypted) accordingly. Here,the location component 130 may be manually activated to determine andsend or transmit a location of the mobile device or device to thetracking system, control component, or third party, thereby enabling oneor more of the foregoing to provide assistance to the user. In this way,a user may utilize a system for location tracking to indicate anemergency situation, initiate a request for assistance, or the like viahis or her mobile device, thereby promoting personal health and safety.

In one or more embodiments, such as during typical operation or duringan operation mode, a system for location tracking may be remotelytriggered based on a request for location tracking (e.g., received bythe request component 110). For example, the request component 110 maymonitor for one or more requests for location tracking (e.g.,notifications or push notifications) or requests, which may be sent by atracking system or a control component, for example. A request orlocation tracking request may be indicative of a desire (e.g.,associated with a requesting user) to track or determine one or morelocations or current locations of one or more mobile devices of one ormore corresponding users. In other words, a request, when accepted oractivated may enable tracking of a mobile device such that a trackingentity or requesting user may determine a location or location historyassociated with a user of a mobile device.

As discussed, in one or more embodiments, the location component 130 maydetermine a location of a device associated with a user and theencryption component 160 may encrypt the location such that encryptedlocation data is generated. The location component 130 may transmit theencrypted location data to a tracking entity or requesting user (withoutnecessarily receiving approval or a response from a user of a device).An encryption key utilized to generate, encrypt, or decrypt locationdata may be provided or transmitted to a third party for safekeeping.Accordingly, when a user responds to a request for location tracking,the mobile device or location component 130 may broadcast this responseto the tracking entity or requesting user such that the location of thedevice or mobile device may be determined by the tracking entity orrequesting user. In other words, as a result of a response (e.g., aresponse indicative of approval of location tracking), a third party mayrelease or transmit an encryption key to the tracking entity orrequesting user which enables the tracking entity to decode or decryptencrypted location data which has been received (e.g., on an ongoingbasis).

As discussed, the location component 130 may be utilized to facilitatefiltering or management of requests such that relevant requests areapplied to groups of users or team members associated with criteria of arequest. For example, the request component 110 may listen, receive, orpoll for requests (e.g., which may be in the form of push notifications)related to tracking (e.g., alert users within a geographical area, etc.)and pass this along to the location component 130, if relevant to theuser or team member, for example. Accordingly, the location component130 may determine a location of a device to facilitate a comparison ofthe location of the device with corresponding search criteria (e.g.,whether a device is within a notification area or geographical area).Examples of location data detected, recorded, sent, or transmitted mayinclude one or more global positioning system (GPS) coordinates, abearing of the user (e.g., a direction the user is travelling), avelocity, location history, call history, data history, current usage,other statistics or data, activity log, time of last input from theuser, etc.

In one or more embodiments, the system 100 for location tracking mayutilize the location component 130 to track a location of a user on anongoing basis or update the location of the user and utilized theupdated location to provide notifications accordingly. For example, if auser or team member is not within a notification radius or anotification area, but later moves into the notification area, thenotification component 140 may provide the user with a notification uponthe user entering the notification area. In this way, the system forlocation tracking may act as or provide a “protective bubble” for usersutilizing the system. Conversely, if a user or team member leaves orexits a notification area or notification radius, the system 100 mayhave the notification component 140 withdraw the notification or send asecond notification to the user which informs the user that they haveleft the notification area and that they may disregard the previousnotification, for example. In other examples, if an emergency has passedor the reason for location tracking has passed, the notificationcomponent 140 may provide notifications to users accordingly.

The notification component 140 may notify or provide one or morenotifications to a user of a mobile device when a request for locationtracking is received by the request component 110. In one or moreembodiments, the management component 120 may provide the user withoptions or preferences to enable or disable such notifications. It willbe appreciated that the notification component 140 may provide differenttypes of notifications or alerts to a user. For example, a notificationmay include auditory, visual, tactile, or other types of feedback for auser. In other words, a notification may include vibrating a device, atext message, a ringtone, an email, changing a color of an icon, be inthe form of a push notification, etc. Regardless, alerts ornotifications may be provided to one or more users prior to engaging inlocation tracking or providing responses associated with locationtracking requests.

In one or more embodiments, the notification component 140 may provideone or more notifications which include details or informationassociated with a user who initiated the request (e.g., a requestinguser), a reason for a request, a reason for tracking, a duration of thetracking, etc. Further, a notification may explain why tracking has beenenabled, instructions on how to respond to a scenario, a suggestedaction, a suggested response, etc. A suggested action may be presentedby the notification component 140. For example, the notificationcomponent 140 may render a notification which indicates a path of dangeror a suggested travel path. The suggested travel path may be a path,which when followed, leads the user, team member, or customer away fromthe path of danger (e.g., a projected pathway of a tornado).

The interface component 150 may render or provide an interface whichenables a user to respond to a request for location tracking byapproving, denying, or ignoring a request for location tracking.Additionally, the interface component 150 may enable users to interactwith a profile or manage one or more user preferences managed by themanagement component 120. Other aspects provided by the interfacecomponent 150 may include an interface for providing feedback (e.g.,such that a user may report abuse, alert the requesting user or trackingentity that an emergency is over, the emergency was a false alarm,confirm that an emergency is occurring, request additional assistance,etc.).

In one or more embodiments, a system 100 for location tracking may beprovided to customers or external service providers. For example, acustomer may be provided with a control component or tracking systemwhich enables the customer to initiate requests for location tracking. Aservice of acting as a fiduciary or third party (e.g., third party keyholder) may be provided to the customer. Here, the customer may receiveencrypted location data associated with one or more users to be tracked.A third party may receive encryption keys and act as an additional layerbetween users and the customer who may initiate location tracking, forexample.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of an example scenario 200 where systems forlocation tracking are employed, according to one or more embodiments.Here, a control component 210 may enable a user, such as a requestinguser or tracking entity to manage one or more requests for locationtracking. In this example, the control component 210 may transmit one ormore location requests to one or more devices 212, 214, 216, and 218associated with one or more corresponding users 212A, 214A, 216A, and218A. Respective devices 212, 214, 216, and 218 may employ one or moresystems for location tracking 100A, 100B, 100C, and 100D, for example.

The control component 210 may enable a user, such as a high level user,a super user, or user to transmit a request for location tracking to oneor more devices or remote devices. In other words, the control component210 may execute or implement an application which initiates tracking inthe form of a request or location tracking request for one or more usersor a group of users, for example. In one or more embodiments, thecontrol component 210 may be a server, a device, or implemented acrossmultiple devices as a centralized application, which may be downloadedand installed on one or more devices. Accordingly, a system for locationtracking, such as a system 100 of FIG. 1 may include the controlcomponent 210 in one or more embodiments, such as when the system 100includes a front-end interface for location tracking and a back-endinterface for initiation of requests for location tracking. In otherembodiments, the control component 210 may be a part of another system,such as a tracking system utilized to manage requests for locationtracking.

When a request for location tracking is initiated by a user utilizing orinterfacing with a tracking system or the control component 210, thecontrol component 210 may record an identity of an individual or userwho initiated the request. In this way, the control component 210 mayprovide accountability as well as record keeping for location tracking.For example, if a manager initiates a request for location tracking forone or more employees or users, the control component 210 may store anidentity associated with the manager or user account of the manager forfuture reference. Other components (e.g., a notification component of asystem for location tracking 100, 100A, 100B, etc.) may utilize theidentity information, such as by providing users who are having theirlocation tracked with “requested by” information.

The control component 210 may utilize identity information associatedwith a requesting user to provide verification of reasoning for locationtracking. In one or more embodiments, two or more users may be requiredto initiate a request to ensure privacy of users, for example. In otherembodiments, merely a single user may initiate the request for locationtracking. The control component 210 may also request reasoning forlocation tracking. In this way, the control component 210 may collectinformation associated with why a request for location tracking wasinitiated. Similarly, other components, such as a notification component140 of a system 100 for location tracking of FIG. 1, may utilize theinformation associated with why a request was initiated by providingusers (e.g., reason for tracking) who are having their location trackedwith “reason for tracking” information.

In one or more embodiments, the control component 210 may be part of atracking system, which may be centralized. As an example, the controlcomponent 210 may implement a control application which may be utilizedto manage communication with one or more devices or mobile devices andtracking associated therewith. The control application may communicatewith one or more remote devices, mobile devices, or devices and transmitrequests to one or more users of respective devices, thereby alertingone or more of the users of location tracking when a business need,legitimate reason, or emergency arises. An interface component 150 mayfacilitate interaction between a user and the control application byproviding an interface, which may be executed or implemented via thecontrol component. In one or more embodiments, the control applicationmay be accessible from multiple devices, such as via a mobile interfaceor a browser interface. For example, a user wishing to initiate arequest for location tracking may navigate to a corresponding uniformresource locator (URL) or web address, login, and initiate the request.

Access to location tracking or different levels of location tracking maybe based on a level of access associated with the user making therequest or initiating the request. For example, login credentials of auser may be utilized to identify whether a user has sufficient accessrights or privileges to initiate location tracking for one or more usersvia the control component 210. In other embodiments, approval may begranted by other departments or entities utilizing the controlcomponent, such as human resources, before a request may be initiated orcompleted. In other words, multiple layers of verification may beprovided by one or more entities to facilitate initiation of locationtracking requests via the control component.

The control component 210 may filter one or more requests for locationtracking or aggregate a list of users to which to transmit or sendrequests. In other words, the control component 210 may manage one ormore aspects related to identification of parties, user, or entities whoshould be tracked. Explained yet another way, this may mean thatfiltering, request management, or determination of target parties orusers may be performed server side, according to one or moreembodiments. As an example, if a user or requesting user initiates arequest to have location tracking occur for members associated with hisor her team, the control component 210 may identify team members orusers who are associated with the requesting user. To this end, thecontrol component 210 may aggregate this list of users and transmit oneor more requests for location tracking to one or more correspondingusers (e.g., team members working for a manager) or users who meetcriteria associated with the request. Here, in FIG. 2, users 212A, 214A,216A, and 218A are determined by the control component 210 to be teammembers who fall within a scope of a request criteria.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of an example scenario 300 where systems forlocation tracking are employed, according to one or more embodiments. Inthis example, devices 212 and 214 are associated with users 212A and214A, respectively. These devices 212 and 214 may include systems forlocation tracking 100A and 100B, respectively. As a result, devices 212and 214 may encrypt and transmit encrypted location data associated withrespective devices to the control component 210 (without any requestsfrom a requesting user 312A). Additionally, the devices 212 and 214 maytransmit corresponding encryption keys to a third party (e.g., thirdparty storage component 320). When the requesting user 312A utilizes thecontrol component 210 to initiate requests for location tracking andresponses indicative of acceptance to the requests are received, thecontrol component 210 may forward these responses to the third party andreceive corresponding encryption keys from the third party storagecomponent 320. In this way, the control component 210 may obtainnecessary encryption keys to decrypt encrypted location data receivedfrom devices 212 and 214, respectively.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of an example flow diagram of a method 400 forlocation tracking, according to one or more embodiments. At 402, arequest for location tracking may be received. At 404, a notificationfor the request may be rendered. At 406, a location of a deviceassociated with a user may be determined. At 408, the location of thedevice may be encrypted utilizing or based on an encryption key. At 410,the encrypted location data may be transmitted to one party (e.g., atracking entity or a requesting user regardless of whether a request hasbeen made). Additionally at 410, the encryption key may be transmittedto another party, such as a third party fiduciary, for example.

Still another embodiment involves a computer-readable medium includingprocessor-executable instructions configured to implement one or moreembodiments of the techniques presented herein. An embodiment of acomputer-readable medium or a computer-readable device devised in theseways is illustrated in FIG. 5, wherein an implementation 500 includes acomputer-readable medium 508, such as a CD-R, DVD-R, flash drive, aplatter of a hard disk drive, etc., on which is encodedcomputer-readable data 506. This computer-readable data 506, such asbinary data including a plurality of zero's and one's as shown in 506,in turn includes a set of computer instructions 504 configured tooperate according to one or more of the principles set forth herein. Inone such embodiment 500, the processor-executable computer instructions504 may be configured to perform a method 502, such as the method 300 ofFIG. 3. In another embodiment, the processor-executable instructions 504may be configured to implement a system, such as the system 100 of FIG.1 or 210 of FIG. 2. Many such computer-readable media may be devised bythose of ordinary skill in the art that are configured to operate inaccordance with the techniques presented herein.

As used in this application, the terms “component”, “module,” “system”,“interface”, and the like are generally intended to refer to acomputer-related entity, either hardware, a combination of hardware andsoftware, software, or software in execution. For example, a componentmay be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, aprocessor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program,or a computer. By way of illustration, both an application running on acontroller and the controller may be a component. One or more componentsresiding within a process or thread of execution and a component may belocalized on one computer or distributed between two or more computers.

Further, the claimed subject matter is implemented as a method,apparatus, or article of manufacture using standard programming orengineering techniques to produce software, firmware, hardware, or anycombination thereof to control a computer to implement the disclosedsubject matter. The term “article of manufacture” as used herein isintended to encompass a computer program accessible from anycomputer-readable device, carrier, or media. Of course, manymodifications may be made to this configuration without departing fromthe scope or spirit of the claimed subject matter.

FIG. 6 and the following discussion provide a description of a suitablecomputing environment to implement embodiments of one or more of theprovisions set forth herein. The operating environment of FIG. 6 ismerely one example of a suitable operating environment and is notintended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use orfunctionality of the operating environment. Example computing devicesinclude, but are not limited to, personal computers, server computers,hand-held or laptop devices, mobile devices, such as mobile phones,Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), media players, and the like,multiprocessor systems, consumer electronics, mini computers, mainframecomputers, distributed computing environments that include any of theabove systems or devices, etc.

Generally, embodiments are described in the general context of “computerreadable instructions” being executed by one or more computing devices.Computer readable instructions may be distributed via computer readablemedia as will be discussed below. Computer readable instructions may beimplemented as program modules, such as functions, objects, ApplicationProgramming Interfaces (APIs), data structures, and the like, thatperform one or more tasks or implement one or more abstract data types.Typically, the functionality of the computer readable instructions arecombined or distributed as desired in various environments.

FIG. 6 illustrates a system 600 including a computing device 612configured to implement one or more embodiments provided herein. In oneconfiguration, computing device 612 includes at least one processingunit 616 and memory 618. Depending on the exact configuration and typeof computing device, memory 618 may be volatile, such as RAM,non-volatile, such as ROM, flash memory, etc., or a combination of thetwo. This configuration is illustrated in FIG. 6 by dashed line 614.

In other embodiments, device 612 includes additional features orfunctionality. For example, device 612 may include additional storagesuch as removable storage or non-removable storage, including, but notlimited to, magnetic storage, optical storage, etc. Such additionalstorage is illustrated in FIG. 6 by storage 620. In one or moreembodiments, computer readable instructions to implement one or moreembodiments provided herein are in storage 620. Storage 620 may storeother computer readable instructions to implement an operating system,an application program, etc. Computer readable instructions may beloaded in memory 618 for execution by processing unit 616, for example.

The term “computer readable media” as used herein includes computerstorage media. Computer storage media includes volatile and nonvolatile,removable and non-removable media implemented in any method ortechnology for storage of information such as computer readableinstructions or other data. Memory 618 and storage 620 are examples ofcomputer storage media. Computer storage media includes, but is notlimited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology,CD-ROM, Digital Versatile Disks (DVDs) or other optical storage,magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or othermagnetic storage devices, or any other medium which may be used to storethe desired information and which may be accessed by device 612. Anysuch computer storage media is part of device 612.

The term “computer readable media” includes communication media.Communication media typically embodies computer readable instructions orother data in a “modulated data signal” such as a carrier wave or othertransport mechanism and includes any information delivery media. Theterm “modulated data signal” includes a signal that has one or more ofits characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encodeinformation in the signal.

Device 612 includes input device(s) 624 such as keyboard, mouse, pen,voice input device, touch input device, infrared cameras, video inputdevices, or any other input device. Output device(s) 622 such as one ormore displays, speakers, printers, or any other output device may beincluded with device 612. Input device(s) 624 and output device(s) 622may be connected to device 612 via a wired connection, wirelessconnection, or any combination thereof. In one or more embodiments, aninput device or an output device from another computing device may beused as input device(s) 624 or output device(s) 622 for computing device612. Device 612 may include communication connection(s) 626 tofacilitate communications with one or more other devices.

According to one or more aspects, a system for location tracking isprovided, including a request component, a notification component, anencryption component, and a location component. The request componentmay receive one or more requests for location tracking from a trackingentity. One or more of the requests for location tracking may includeone or more criteria. The notification component may provide one or morenotifications corresponding to one or more of the requests for locationtracking, such as to a user of a device. The encryption component maycalculate an encryption key. A location component may determine alocation of a device associated with the system for location tracking.The encryption component may encrypt location data indicative of thelocation of the device based on the encryption key and the location ofthe device. The location component may transmit the encryption key to athird party storage component and transmit the encrypted location datato the tracking entity. The request component may transmit a response toone or more of the requests back to the tracking entity.

The system may include a management component implementing a timeoutscheme to provide the response to one or more of the requests forlocation tracking in an absence of a user response to one or more of therequests within a timeout window. The location component may determinethe location of the device based on one or more of the criteriaassociated with one or more of the requests. The location component maytransmit the encrypted location data based on one or more of thecriteria associated with one or more of the requests. The managementcomponent may have or manage a profile associated with a user of thedevice, where the profile may be indicative of one or more userattributes or one or more user preferences. One or more of the userpreferences of the profile may be indicative of a level of granularityand encrypted location data may be encrypted based on the level ofgranularity.

The request component may filters one or more of the requests forlocation tracking based on one or more of the corresponding criteria andthe profile of the user. One or more of the requests may include anotification area criteria. The notification component provides one ormore of the notifications based on the location of the device beingwithin a scope of the notification area criteria. The system may includean interface component receiving the response to one or more of therequests for location tracking, such as from a user of the device.

According to one or more aspects, a method for location tracking may beprovided, including receiving one or more requests for locationtracking, wherein one or more of the requests for location trackinginclude one or more criteria, rendering one or more notificationscorresponding to one or more of the requests for location tracking,determining a location of a device associated with the system forlocation tracking, and transmitting the location of the device to thetracking entity based on meeting one or more of the criteria of one ormore of the requests.

The method may include transmitting the encrypted location dataregardless of whether requests for location tracking are received ortransmitting the location of the device via a telecommunicationschannel. One or more of the requests may include a notification areacriteria. The method may include rendering one or more of thenotifications based on the location of the device being within a scopeof the notification area criteria. The method may include receiving theresponse to one or more of the requests for location tracking from auser of the device. The method may include receiving feedback pertainingto one or more of the requests for location tracking from a user of thedevice.

According to one or more aspects, a system for location tracking may beprovided, including a request component, a notification component, anencryption component, and a location component. The request componentmay receive one or more requests for location tracking from a trackingentity, wherein one or more of the requests for location tracking mayinclude one or more criteria. The notification component may provide oneor more notifications corresponding to one or more of the requests forlocation tracking. The encryption component may calculate an encryptionkey. The location component may determine a location of a deviceassociated with the system for location tracking. The encryptioncomponent may encrypt location data indicative of the location of thedevice based on the encryption key and the location of the device. Thelocation component may transmit the encryption key to a third partystorage component and transmit the encrypted location data to thetracking entity. The request component may transmit a response to one ormore of the requests to the tracking entity, wherein the response may beindicative of consent, approval, or denial for one or more of therequests.

The system may include a management component managing a profileassociated with a user of the device, wherein the profile may beindicative of one or more user attributes or one or more userpreferences. One or more of the user preferences of the profile may beindicative of a level of granularity, wherein the encrypted locationdata may be encrypted based on the level of granularity. The requestcomponent may filter one or more of the requests for location trackingbased on one or more of the corresponding criteria and the profile ofthe user.

According to one or more aspects, a system for location tracking isprovided, including a control component. The control component maytransmit one or more requests for location tracking associated with atracking entity, wherein one or more of the requests for locationtracking comprise one or more criteria. The control component mayreceive encrypted location data of a device associated with the systemfor location tracking, transmit one or more requests for an encryptionkey to a third party, receive the encryption key from the third party,and determine a location of the device based on the encrypted locationdata and the encryption key. The control component may be implementedvia a processing unit. One or more of the requests may include anotification area criteria. The control component may store theencrypted location data. The third party may be an institution.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific tostructural features or methodological acts, it is to be understood thatthe subject matter of the appended claims is not necessarily limited tothe specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specificfeatures and acts described above are disclosed as example embodiments.

Various operations of embodiments are provided herein. The order inwhich one or more or all of the operations are described should not beconstrued as to imply that these operations are necessarily orderdependent. Alternative ordering will be appreciated based on thisdescription. Further, not all operations may necessarily be present ineach embodiment provided herein.

As used in this application, “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or”rather than an exclusive “or”. Further, an inclusive “or” may includeany combination thereof (e.g., A, B, or any combination thereof). Inaddition, “a” and “an” as used in this application are generallyconstrued to mean “one or more” unless specified otherwise or clear fromcontext to be directed to a singular form. Additionally, at least one ofA and B and/or the like generally means A or B or both A and B. Further,to the extent that “includes”, “having”, “has”, “with”, or variantsthereof are used in either the detailed description or the claims, suchterms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term“comprising”.

Further, unless specified otherwise, “first”, “second”, or the like arenot intended to imply a temporal aspect, a spatial aspect, an ordering,etc. Rather, such terms are merely used as identifiers, names, etc. forfeatures, elements, items, etc. For example, a first channel and asecond channel generally correspond to channel A and channel B or twodifferent or two identical channels or the same channel. Additionally,“comprising”, “comprises”, “including”, “includes”, or the likegenerally means comprising or including, but not limited to.

Although the disclosure has been shown and described with respect to oneor more implementations, equivalent alterations and modifications willoccur based on a reading and understanding of this specification and theannexed drawings. The disclosure includes all such modifications andalterations and is limited only by the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A non-transitory system for location tracking,comprising: a tracking entity determining a tracking scenario, thetracking scenario triggers a start of location tracking of at least oneuser device; a request component receiving one or more requests forlocation tracking from the tracking entity, wherein one or more of therequests for location tracking comprise one or more criteria; anotification component providing one or more notifications correspondingto one or more of the requests for location tracking; an encryptioncomponent calculating an encryption key; and a location component for:determining a location of a user device associated with the system forlocation tracking, wherein the encryption component encrypts locationdata indicative of the location of the device based on the encryptionkey and the location of the device; transmitting the encryption key to athird party storage component; and transmitting the encrypted locationdata to the tracking entity, wherein the request component transmits aresponse to one or more of the requests to the tracking entity, whereinthe request component, the notification component, the encryptioncomponent, or the location component is implemented via a processingunit.
 2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a managementcomponent implementing a timeout scheme to provide the response to oneor more of the requests for location tracking in an absence of a userresponse to one or more of the requests within a timeout window.
 3. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the location component determines thelocation of the device based on one or more of the criteria associatedwith one or more of the requests.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein thelocation component transmits the encrypted location data based on one ormore of the criteria associated with one or more of the requests.
 5. Thesystem of claim 1, further comprising a management component having aprofile associated with a user of the device, wherein the profile isindicative of one or more user attributes or one or more userpreferences.
 6. The system of claim 5, wherein one or more of the userpreferences of the profile is indicative of a level of granularity,wherein the encrypted location data is encrypted based on the level ofgranularity.
 7. The system of claim 5, wherein the request componentfilters one or more of the requests for location tracking based on oneor more of the corresponding criteria and the profile of the user. 8.The system of claim 1, wherein one or more of the requests comprises anotification area criteria.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein thenotification component provides one or more of the notifications basedon the location of the device being within a scope of the notificationarea criteria.
 10. The system of claim 1, further comprising aninterface component receiving the response to one or more of therequests for location tracking.
 11. A method for location tracking,comprising: determining a tracking scenario, the tracking scenariotriggering a start of location tracking of at least one user device;receiving one or more requests for location tracking, wherein one ormore of the requests for location tracking comprise one or morecriteria; generating a notification to a user device; providing atracking application for installation on the user device; transmittingthe notification to the user device over a server, the server having aprocessor and a memory, wherein the notification activates the trackingapplication on the user device to request tracking; rendering one ormore notifications corresponding to one or more of the requests forlocation tracking; determining a location of a device associated withthe system for location tracking; transmitting the location of thedevice to the tracking entity based on meeting one or more of thecriteria of one or more of the requests; wherein the receiving, therendering, the determining, the encrypting, or the transmitting isimplemented via a processing unit.
 12. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising transmitting the location of the device via atelecommunications channel.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein one ormore of the requests comprises a notification area criteria.
 14. Themethod of claim 13, further comprising rendering one or more of thenotifications based on the location of the device being within a scopeof the notification area criteria.
 15. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising receiving the response to one or more of the requests forlocation tracking from a user of the device.
 16. The method of claim 11,further comprising receiving feedback pertaining to one or more of therequests for location tracking from a user of the device.
 17. Anon-transitory system for location tracking, comprising: anon-transitory control component: determining a tracking scenario, thetracking scenario triggering a start of location tracking of at leastone user device; transmitting one or more requests for location trackingassociated with a tracking entity, wherein one or more of the requestsfor location tracking comprise one or more criteria; receiving encryptedlocation data of a device associated with the system for locationtracking; transmitting one or more requests for an encryption key to athird party; receiving the encryption key from the third party; anddetermining a location of the device based on the encrypted locationdata and the encryption key, wherein the control component isimplemented via a processing unit.
 18. The system of claim 17, whereinone or more of the requests comprises a notification area criteria. 19.The system of claim 17, wherein the control component stores theencrypted location data.
 20. The system of claim 17, wherein the thirdparty is an institution.